ATX-NNW: Impact 9/1/2025

Austin’s former Apple campus could be converted into a mixed-use development, following City Council’s approval of a rezoning request Aug. 28.

Sorting out details: The site, which spans nearly 286 acres and features four two-story buildings, was previously zoned Limited Industrial which allows for industrial uses such as manufacturing and warehouse services.

The rezoning request to combine the LI district with a Planned Development Area, or PDA, allows for a variety of residential, commercial and civic uses, including:

• Multifamily units such as condominiums, duplexes, townhomes, 10% of which are proposed to be reserved at 80% median family income or less
• Cocktail lounges and liquor sales
• Pet services
• Recreational equipment sales
• Educational facilities
• Research testing and warehousing services

Since 1974, Pins & Wheels at Playland has crafted a family-friendly entertainment space for customers of all ages to dive into a world of fun. With its latest renovations, the center has grown from a roller rink paired with a small arcade to a community hub featuring five entertainment experiences.

The background: Managing partner Stephanie Moxley grew up alongside the business after her parents, Pete and Anna Morin, purchased the space in 2002. Her father was a security officer at the center when the owner decided to sell the business.

What they offer: Attendees can take part in skating, axe throwing, bowling, karaoke and arcade games. Along with the updates to games, individuals can partake in the enhanced dining options including a variety of burger options, appetizers, salads, sandwiches and flatbreads.

Customers can also enjoy specialty cocktails, pitchers, beer and wine as well as nonalcoholic refreshers and nonalcoholic beer.

• 8822 McCann Drive, Austin

EVO Cabinet & Closet opened its first home remodeling business July 1 in North Austin.

The details: The business sells European- and shaker-style cabinets alongside countertops from three partner distributors, and provides installation services for both.

What else?: Other services include complimentary measurement consultations, free 3D design visualizations with a design consultation, and post-installation cabinet and countertop cleaning.

• 8650 Spicewood Springs Road, Ste. 117, Austin

The 30-year civic blueprint Imagine Austin will be undergoing a $3 million update after City Council formally kicked off the comprehensive planning and public engagement process in August.

Austin's city charter calls for ongoing planning efforts, and city leaders first adopted Imagine Austin as a government and community roadmap in 2012. The city's grown and changed since then but the plan hasn't gone through a full revision, leading to the update that's now moving ahead.

Officials funded the update in Austin's budget two years ago. City outreach like public events, surveys and other efforts will take place over the coming months as the new Imagine Austin takes shape. An updated draft plan for the city's next 20 years will be up for resident review in late 2026 or early 2027, to be followed by formal adoption later that year.

Gov. Greg Abbott signed Texas’ new congressional map into law Aug. 29, declaring in a video posted to social media that “Texas is now more red in the United States Congress.”

The details: Under Texas’ current congressional boundaries, Republicans hold 25 of Texas’ 38 congressional seats. State lawmakers have said the new map will help them gain up to five more during the 2026 midterm elections.

Texas Democrats have called the mid-decade redistricting effort unconstitutional and "racially discriminatory," while Republicans asserted that the map "complies with the law" and was designed to help more Republicans get elected to the U.S. House.

Next steps: Texas’ new congressional map is set to take effect in early December, although it will be discussed in court two months earlier. After state senators approved the map Aug. 23, the League of United Latin American Citizens and a group of Texas residents filed a lawsuit asking that the map be found unconstitutional.

A panel of three federal judges will hear arguments in the case Oct. 1-10 in El Paso.

Here are the top trending Community Impact stories in the Austin metro from Aug. 25-29.

1. Former hotel converted into affordable apartment complex in North Austin

2. Georgetown to use eminent domain to complete Williams Drive intersection improvements

3. Georgetown to deliver Round Rock water to Liberty Hill

4. A regional destination: Texas’ second-largest retail store set to bring visitors to Cedar Park

5. New Dave’s Hot Chicken location undergoing construction in Cedar Park

6. Double R Hat House offers hand-shaped cowboy hats 'that last'

Both chambers of the Texas Legislature have voted to overhaul the state’s standardized testing system, putting public school students one step closer to taking new exams in the 2027-28 school year.

The details: House Bill 8 would eliminate the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness and replace it with three shorter tests, which students would take at the beginning, middle and end of each school year.

Bill author Rep. Brad Buckley, R-Salado, said HB 8 would “reduce test anxiety, provide teachers with immediate feedback and create a pathway for trust in our system again." The majority of House Democrats and a few Republicans disagreed, arguing Aug. 26 that the bill would increase the amount of time students spend on exams and essentially create “another STAAR test” developed by the Texas Education Agency.

Next steps: After state senators passed HB 8 with a 21-7 vote Aug. 27, the bill returned to the House for consideration of a Senate amendment. If House lawmakers sign off on the changes, HB 8 will be sent to the governor.